Aftershock: The Viral Imperium
by DG
Summary: *UPDATE* Once more, I have rewritten the first chapter. It's more stationary than before, so I hope now people will understand.
1. Net Records

Author's Note: Okay, okay, third time's the charm, right? Anyway, I'm also working on a prequel of the Hunt. Also, I'm planning this to be a trilogy, so I'm setting the stage for later stories as well, so please don't remind me about unexplained parts. Some are planned for later on.  
  
Historian Note: This takes place after season four, and an explanation as to what happened to Megabyte and how Hex is back is underway. Officially, I'm considering this a sixth season, the Hunt will be the fifth.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Matrix walked through the corridors of the Haunted House game. His gun was up, ready to delete the User. AndrAIa was still behind him.  
" Ready, Sparky?" she asked. Matrix nodded, then looked at her belly. AndrAIa was pregnant with their first child, and if it weren't for her making a quick jump with her bike, he'd be fighting these games with Bob instead. Of course, Bob was busy with a few domestic problems with Dot. The two had tried living together recently, and that was working perfectly, he thought with an eye roll. But, then again, Matrix couldn't talk, as he and AndrAIa nearly got into fights themselves every time Matrix even seemed to suggest that she stop going into games during this pregnancy. He remembered the last one. Something along the lines of 'If we want a safe place for our baby to live, shouldn't we trust in her to realize that her parents need to fight games, even during the pregnancy.' 'That's all well and good, but the doctors all said to limit your game playing-' 'Limit, not stop.' 'AndrAIa, please. We've been through all of this and-' 'And I'm not going to have another argument about this. Matrix... Enzo... Trust me. I know my child. And I know that the games are not where I'm going to have this child.'  
The argument continued, AndrAIa wearing him and his points and counterpoints down. Finally he accepted that she could continue playing until two cycles before the due date. 'Two cycles, and not a nano later. Frankly, I'm still skeptical of that.' 'Don't worry, Matrix. The baby and I will be fine.'  
AndrAIa's hand on his shoulder brought him back to reality.  
" C'mon, Sparky. We gotta stop the User," she said.  
" Right."  
In this game, he was a ghost, and the scar over his right eye was greatly exaggerated and bleeding. He'd already begun to ignore it, but AndrAIa, in a banshee outfit didn't seem to be able because she hadn't looked at it while it had been bleeding the first time. There was the User.  
  
" AndrAIa! Go for it!" Matrix cried. AndrAIa opened her mouth, and a shrill cry came through it. The User was paralyzed. Matrix's eye switched over and turned red. He fired.  
" Game Over."  
  
***  
  
Three Nanoseconds Later.  
  
Terrin Wilson flew towards the old system.  
" Funny. I was expecting it to look much more trashed the way the Command.com made it sound. Oh, well. Ani will help. He's got to. Come on guys," he thought, " Please be here." Terrin did a loop.  
" Hey, Cat, how you hanging back there?" he asked, turning back toward a female sprite.  
" Hanging? You told be it would be so outrageous-"  
" Ah, ah, ah. Don't you two start that all over again," a young sprite said. He was a little older than one-oh.  
" Illan's right, Cat. Hear that, Illan?" Ani said.  
" We're doomed," Ori chuckled.  
" Sheesh," Terrin said, " Cat, I think we're outnumbered." Cat's eye roll was his response. Terrin returned to his hopes of seeing his friends, after so long. Missing that game cube a few hours ago. But then again, being trapped by virii tends to be trouble anyway, let alone when you're trying to game hop. He only hopped Matrix, AndrAIa, and Frisket had made it to a system with portals or hopped home.  
" Hey, you okay?" Cat asked, placing a hand on Terrin's shoulder.  
" Yeah. Just... reminiscing."  
" Remembering those sprites you've been looking for?"  
" Yeah. You know that we game-hopped together through... over a hundred games and they never got back to their home. I'd like to know that they're safe."  
" Don't worry. Hey. Maybe once we're back at the Super Computer, you know, after this mercy mission is over, we'll search for them," Cat offered.  
" Thanks."  
  
***  
  
Now.  
  
The cube vanished, leaving Matrix and AndrAIa standing in the alley.  
" Lover, how many times have we done this since we lost that game?" AndrAIa asked.  
" I don't know. Too many times," Matrix sighed.  
" Matrix!" Enzo cried. Matrix sighed. The big green guy was finally getting used to the little kid hanging on his arm every nanosecond.  
" Tell me I never did that," Matrix murmured. AndrAIa shook her head.  
  
" Sorry, lover," she smiled.  
Enzo rammed into Matrix, and Matrix, playing along, fell on impact. He didn't have to, but he didn't want his little brother to get his youthful feelings hurt. Matrix sighed, as he had a hard time believing he'd once been that young, naïve, and rule-breaking. AndrAIa seemed to read his mind.  
" I seem to recall you breaking the rules a few times in the past couple of hours, Sparky," she smiled. Matrix scowled.  
" Hey, Matrix, can you tell me what it was like traveling through the games?" Enzo asked, and seemed to stop there. Matrix waited calmly for the next bit in the kid's usual eighty-mile long questions and comments, but they never came.  
" Dre, take the kid's temperature, I think he's coming down with something," Matrix chuckled to AndrAIa.  
  
"NoI'mjustcurious'causewhenIwaswatchingTrueStoriesofMainframetheynevermentio nwhathappenedtoyouandAndrAIaafteryouleftMainframe!" the kid cried.  
" That's Enzo all right. Now, Dre, please go tell Dot the kid's had too much Java," Matrix said, lifting Enzo up.  
" She still lets him after the incident three seconds ago?" AndrAIa asked.  
" She has to get rid of it some way. She doesn't drink it anymore, there's nothing to make her, and I don't touch the stuff," Matrix sighed, and then turned back to Enzo. " So, you want to know what happened to us in the games, huh? Well, after AndrAIa and I switched to game sprite mode..."  
***  
  
Now.  
  
Dot Matrix, Command.com of Mainframe, examined the reports that were coming in from several systems and sighed.  
" Mainframe sure has become the hotspot of the Net, huh, boss?" a CPU commented.  
" Yes, and frankly, I think all this crowding in of sprites and binomes in Mainframe is becoming dangerous for the hard-working citizens. I just got word of a sprite from the system of VAIO viciously attacked a sprite from Hewlett," Dot said.  
" Why would he do that?"  
" Apparently, the VAIO sprite said the Hewlett sprite's face looked too much like a virus's," Dot sighed.  
" It looks like we're going to have to remind them that we're all friends here," the CPU said, grabbing a weapon and walking out. Dot smiled.  
" Specky, what's the status of the Principal Office's defenses?" she asked.  
" Well, ma'am, we've been looking over how Megabyte got through here just after the Daemon Conflict, and we believe we've developed a way against any other virus to get in here. The only problem is-"  
" -Is that we'd need a virus to test it. Hex is out because of her status as a sprite with viral abilities. Not to mention, she's come in handy more times than one. Keep checking. We're at least in a calm period," Dot sighed.  
" I fear that it may just be the calm before the storm," Phong sighed.  
" I know what you mean, Phong," Dot turned her head back to the reports. One in particular caught her eye.  
" Specky, I could have sworn that I read this same report just this morning?" she asked.  
" Uh, no ma'am. This one is from a completely different system," the nerd binome replied. Dot bit her lip.  
" My child, what is it?" Phong asked.  
" Specky, cross-reference this report with all the others, and see if any of them have the exact same questions and requests," Dot ordered. Specky quickly began hitting the keys on his console.  
" Sir, ma'am, there's 132 reports reporting the exact same thing. Like it or not, this is not a secluded incident," Specky said.  
" Great. Contact Dad, Bob, AndrAIa, Enzo, Matrix, Mouse, Surfr, and Hex and get them down here," Dot sighed.  
" Enzo?" Phong and Specky repeated.  
" Enzo is getting to the age where he's old enough to be included in these meetings. Well? What are we waiting for, an announcement from the User? Let's move! You've got your orders!" Dot cried. The binomes and Phong scurried and began working on counter-measures.  
***  
Welman Matrix walked down the corridor of the Principal Office in Mainframe. Phong and Dot had called him here. Wellman shivered at the thought of some of the scientific ideas he was planning, because he was afraid another one of those viruses would come through like last time. Wellman opened the door. Dot, Phong and Specky were sitting at the table.  
" Ah, Dad, good, you're here. Bob, AndrAIa, Enzo, Matrix, Mouse, Surfr, and Hex are on their way. This could really affect us all," Dot said, closing her planner.  
" Dot, what is it?" Welman asked.  
" Trouble," Specky said.  
" Net-wide trouble," Phong added. Wellmen looked from Phong, his long- time friend, to Dot.  
" This is serious," he said, taking a look at the symbol that was on the monitor. It was the same type of egg timer that Daemon had infused all over the Net during her take-over. 


	2. The Tentacle Capture

1.1.1 Chapter 2  
  
Bob entered the P.O. as Matrix, AndrAIa, and Enzo arrived. Bob sighed. At least Enzo was responding to Enzo again.  
  
" Sorry we had to cut the story short, but Dot needs all of us in the meeting," Matrix said. Matrix seemed to have gained a parental nature. Maybe it was because AndrAIa was seven minutes pregnant. Bob knew how against Matrix was on AndrAIa going into games because the doctors all agreed that the baby might come sooner than expected. Bob sighed, and wondered about how Dot was going to handle the news Bob was bringing. All four of them entered the war room. Hex, Mouse, and Ray were already there.  
  
" Wellman. I didn't know you'd be here," Bob said.  
  
" Dot told me to come," Wellman explained.  
  
" Hey, Dad!" Enzo cried, ramming into Wellman's arms.  
  
" Hey there, kiddo!" Wellman smiled to his son. Dot smiled, then turned serious.  
  
" People, Specky, Phong and I have checked for signs of what Daemon left. It's worse than we feared. Daemon left an imprint on at least one building in each system she infected when AndrAIa got infected," Dot said.  
  
" Dot-" AndrAIa began.  
  
" Sorry, AndrAIa. I can't help that they happened at the same time, but look, we've got something worse to deal with. I spoke with the Command.com of one of those systems. Matrix, AndrAIa, they seem to hail the two of you as system heroes. You two seemed to come at the right time for them," Dot smiled.  
  
" That would narrow down the system list. We were only considered heroes in three different systems, one of which was spared from Daemon's infection," Matrix said.  
  
" Good. Then I'll send both of you to one of the different systems. Before their Command.com could tell me his system's location, the system lost out-of-system communication," Dot said.  
  
" Sis, I don't think-"  
  
" Matrix, this baby isn't coming for at least another few cycles. I think I can handle an investigation," AndrAIa said.  
  
" I'm sorry AndrAIa, but I think I'm going to agree with Matrix now that I think about it. Bob. You go to the other system," Dot said.  
  
" Dot, you forget, Bob is the only one who can open and keep open a portal to the net. If we send him, and Matrix is attacked, we won't be able to save him," Phong said.  
  
" I'll go," Wellman said.  
  
" No, Dad. I just got you back. I'm not letting you go. Mouse. You and Ray can go," Dot ordered.  
  
" Yes, ma'am," Mouse said.  
  
" Remember, these markings are not normal. The Command.com gave me information on what has happened when the people of his system touched the marking. They have disappeared," Dot reported.  
  
" Disappeared? As in, not deleted?" Surfr asked.  
  
" That's right. Hex, I'm gonna need any and all information you can give me on virals. Does this normally happen, how this happens, why this happens, that sort of thing. Bob, if you know anyone in the Super Computer who can help, that would greatly be appreciated. AndrAIa, since you are going to be here, I need to know about any allies you have who can help us. If my theory on what has happened to those sprites and binomes is correct, we're going to need all the help possible to defeat this menace, or else we're deleted nulls," Dot stated.  
  
" I understand, Dot," Hex said with a smile.  
  
" I see if I still have any contacts in the Super Computer and the Guardian Collective," Bob nodded.  
  
" I'll do it, Dot," AndrAIa said.  
  
" Good. And remember, Daemon left more than ghosts. Daemon also left several imprints of herself, and they are some of the worse pieces of the Second Viral War that the net has yet to clean up. Bob, I also want all the information you can give me on Daecon. He was Daemon's right-hand for quite a while during her Net control," Dot said.  
  
" Daecon was definitely one of my toughest teachers at the Academy. He seemed worse than Vixen," Bob said.  
  
" Vixen?" Dot asked, sounding a little jealous.  
  
" My partner at the Academy. Daecon was the only Guardian I knew who didn't have a keytool at all. Daecon was bitter to the rest of full Guardians out there, and he would always try to break our spirits so we'd return home," Bob replied, " Vixen was strict, but she lived on the edge as well. On my last mission in the Super Computer, we were going to send a virus into a viral deletion chamber and Vixen and I began to talk about all of my theories. The virus broke out, and Vixen tried using Glitch to stop Kilobyte. Kilobyte deleted Vixen. She fragmented in my arms. I still have nightmares about that second," Bob sighed.  
  
" Bob, I need you to contact Turbo. See if he can give you any new information on Daemon's obsession with timers. If we can figure out any information on this mark we can-" A vid-window opened behind Dot- and it had Pixel's face on it.  
  
" Pixel!" Matrix and AndrAIa cried.  
  
" Matrix, AndrAIa. I am glad to see you have made it back to your home of Mainframe. I must speak to your Command.com," Pixel stated. Dot stood.  
  
" You've found her. So, you know my brother and sister-in-law. I'm Dot Matrix. What is it?" Dot asked.  
  
" Straight to the point. I like that in a sprite. I heard that sprites in your system were able to defeat Daemon. I wanted you to know that we have found strange markings bearing Daemon's sign. I thought you would be interested in this information," Pixel stated.  
  
" You're not the only system. All right. Tell everyone in your system to stay away from it. That sign has taken several sprites and binomes in other systems and we're afraid of what might happen. Ma'am, I'll send a representative from Mainframe soon," Dot said.  
  
" Thank you for your help," Pixel said, and the vid-window closed.  
  
" Matrix, Mouse, I want you two to go there ASAP. If we can get there before it takes anyone, we might be able to find out some information about it," Dot said. The two sprites nodded. " All right everyone, meeting adjourned. Remember you three, if you need help, Mainframe is only a vid- window away."  
  
Matrix emerged in the system. He noticed the changes that had been made since he, AndrAIa, and Frisket had left. He opened a vid-window to Dot.  
  
" Sis, I made it. You can close the portal now."  
  
" All right, little brother. Remember, you've got a schedule to follow. The Command.com wants you to report there ASAP," Dot replied.  
  
" I understand, sis," Matrix stated, then closed up the vid-window. He noticed a game cube in the system. He sighed, thinking he could've arrived a few nanos ago and helped fight the game. Matrix rode his bike up to the P.O. The square floating above the P.O. looked better than it had before. Matrix looked down. He noticed two binomes who seemed familiar. Matrix headed on to the P.O. He parked his bike outside of the P.O. " That is a nice bike," he chuckled, using AndrAIa's famous line. Matrix walked into the P.O. When he reached the large doors to this system's war room, he knocked instead of bursting right in. After knocking, he entered. Wise One was still in the giant chair.  
  
" Hey, hey, hey! Who said you could just waltz in here like that?" Wise One said, bringing his chair over to Matrix, then getting a good look at Matrix. " Matrix? Hey, hey! Are you back to protect the system?" Wise One stated, " Not that we need you anymore. The team you trained to protect us from the games are great! In fact, that reminds me." Wise One whistled and a binome entered. " You there! Have Backup, Tac Tic, Tweek, Hardboot, and Overdrive come straight to my office!"  
  
" Wise One, I was sent by the Command.com of Mainframe to see about a mysterious symbol that had appeared in several systems Daemon infected. Has this symbol appeared here?" Matrix asked, opening a vid-window with Daemon's egg-timer symbol on it.  
  
" Why, yes! Thank goodness someone is here to help with the disappearances! The binomes who disappeared left during our rebuilding time. That was not a good thing!" Wise One crowed.  
  
" I can see," Matrix said, weighing the option to help rebuild now that he could go home at anytime. The binome that Wise One had ordered to get the Game Team returned.  
  
" Sir, uhhh, we can't seem to find Tweek or Backup, and Tac Tic, Hardboot, and Overdrive are in the game right now," the binome stated.  
  
" Game Over. User Wins," the G.O. voice called. Matrix burst out of the P.O. and hopped on his bike, hoping that there would be something other than three nulls leaving the nullified sector. Matrix pulled up to the sector. He looked down.  
  
" Oh, my, User," Matrix said. There, in the pit, were four icons, three reboot ready, the other was that of a game sprite's. Matrix hopped into the pit. He hoped that the team had done the same as AndrAIa, downloading a copy of herself into the icon, but what was with the game sprite's icon? Matrix pressed each icon, and flashes of light enveloped the whole sector. Matrix had to shield his eyes from it. When it died down, Hardboot, Tac Tic, Overdrive, and a sprite appeared.  
  
" Wha-what happened?" Tac Tic asked.  
  
" You lost a game, that's what!" Matrix cried, then tried the system Dad had been teaching him recently. He counted to ten, and cooled down his anger.  
  
" Hey! It's Matrix!" Overdrive cried. Matrix turned to look at the game sprite, but they were gone. Matrix noticed Bob had yet to close the portal. Matrix turned and saw that a winged sprite was flying for the portal.  
  
" Quiet! Where's Backup and Tweek?" Matrix asked.  
  
" Matrix, Tweek and Backup were scanning an odd reading in Level 78," Hardboot said. Matrix hopped out of the hole and ran towards Level 78, being careful to avoid the nulls all over the system. He made a personal note to stop depending on his bike to get around Mainframe. He was getting out of shape, and he needed to visit the Mainframe Gym. Matrix quickly made it to Level 78, and looked at the sky. The portal was gone- for now. Matrix sighed. If any game sprites or viruses wanted to leave this system, at least they weren't going to Mainframe. Matrix looked over all of the buildings.  
  
" No," he gasped, looking at a whole block. Daemon's symbol was all over the buildings. Matrix turned his head, and began to search the block. He heard a whispering coming from an alley. Matrix ran over to see where it came from. When he turned the corner, he saw the largest symbol of all, and unlike the other symbols, which were glowing green, this one was glowing red. Gun popped into Matrix's hand.  
  
" Gun, command line. Tracking," Matrix ordered, his mechanical eye switching over to the M side and began to glow. A tentacle flew out of the symbol. Matrix fired, but the tentacle moved to fast for Gun, and knocked Gun out of his hand, then wrapped around Matrix. Matrix cried out, then the tentacles pulled him through to the other side of the symbol. 


	3. Net Scramble

Chapter 3  
  
Terrin, Cat, Ori, Ani, and Illan stopped in the system. Terrin caught a glimmer of a portal closing in the sky.  
" Ori, Ani, you two find the Command.com. Cat, search for binomes and sprites. Illan, let's go. Don't worry Cat. I'll protect him," Terrin smiled.  
" Who said I was worried?" Cat said, giving Terrin a kiss. Terrin and Illan headed down to Level 78.  
" You were right with your feeling, Illan," Terrin gasped, looking at the symbols.  
" Dad? Are you okay?" Illan asked.  
" Yeah, kiddo. That's Daemon's sign. It brought back bad memories, but at least Cat, Ori, and Ani were able to get me out of harm's way and brought me home," Terrin smiled, ruffling Illan's hair. The two passed the red symbol, and Terrin's feet gave way.  
" Dad?" Illan cried. Tentacles reached out and pulled Illan and Terrin into the mark.  
  
Twelve Hours Later.  
  
Kiyan finished his homework just as Bob entered.  
" Kiddo, it's time for bed," Bob said. Kiyan's younger sister Andra was already asleep.  
" Ah, Dad, do I have to?" Kiyan asked.  
" Kiddo, if you don't Sierra isn't going to be sleeping in your room next second," Bob said.  
" Oh, alright. I'll do it," Kiyan murmured.  
" Good. Now, go to sleep," Bob said, " And that's an order form the Assistant Prime Guardian." Bob turned out the light and shut the door. That was when the veiled woman appeared. Her tentacles wrapped around Andra and Kiyan.  
  
Now.  
  
She entered her lab, putting the two young children on two beds. She looked over her arrangement of toys. A renegade, his younger brother, three children, five binomes, one 'hero,' a champion P.O.N.G. player, a Guardian, and a grown game fighter. She sighed.  
" You!" she yelled to one of her assistant binomes, " How long until I can go after more of these pathetic creatures?" she growled.  
" Lady Malestorm, it will take several microseconds for the capture program to be at full strength. For now, you must be satisfied with the current selection," the binome said.  
" Then I shall go to the Web and retrieve Megabyte. There is no time for us waste, and he has great infection powers that we must have. He may be damaged. I want the Viral Reprogramming Bay ready for Megabyte," she chuckled.  
  
" What?!" Dot cried.  
" That's right, a game sprite came through the portal as I was beginning the close," Bob reported.  
" Bring them straight to me," Dot ordered, then called Specky. " Specky, I need you to prepare Mouse's old game sprite to reboot system."  
" Yes, sir, ma'am," Specky said, closing the window. Bob entered, holding the game sprite by the hands, the game sprite was struggling.  
" Excuse me, but I want to speak with you," Dot told the winged sprite.  
" Yeah, well, la-de-freakin'-da," the sprite growled.  
" Pal, you don't know who you're messing with. I'm sure it's because of my brother that you're even out of your game," Dot growled.  
" Hey, lady, I was perfectly happy in my game. It's not my fault that one of those binomes knocked off my icon, and it's certainly not my fault that your brother made me restart. Now, I want to be on my way," the sprite said.  
" Fine. But don't say we didn't warn you, because the net is very dangerous to game sprites who don't even know the meaning of the word authority. There are sprites who aren't as kind as we Mainframers are, and I'm certain you would fall to a virus," Dot growled, " Bob, let him go." Bob followed Dot's order, and the game sprite began to walk out of the P.O.  
  
Megabyte floated around, still motionless. His leg was still damaged, and web creatures were around every turn. The Web Riders were attempting to delete him. Obviously, Bob had given them a description of him. As his enemies began to surround him, a ship appeared out of nowhere, and a beam swept him up. Megabyte twisted, seeing who had saved him from the Web Riders.  
" Megabyte, I presume? A woman asked. Megabyte tried to speak, but found that his vocal processors must have been damaged by the web creatures.  
" Milady?" a binome asked the woman.  
" What is it? Never mind. Go. Have whatever it is put on a report and place it on my desk. Now, Megabyte, I'm sure you want power- Power over Mainframe," the woman snickered. Megabyte snickered. Surely, this woman must know that Mainframe was dying when he left- that it was probably offline and deleted by now. " Megabyte, Mainframe was restarted and restored. All viral traces have vanished from there. You are the only virus who has ever made it out of Mainframe with their original programming intact. Your sister was healed by Guardian Bob, and now lives among the sprites of Mainframe as one of them. Now, we must talk," the woman snickered, then, Megabyte felt that the beam that held him in place began to go down. Megabyte looked, and saw a pool much like that he had used on his sister to include a collar to control her. Megabyte looked up at the woman, a plea in his eyes. All Megabyte saw was cold darkness, then silver all around him, then passed out.  
  
Malestorm was pleased with the results. She had Megabyte and was in the process of altering him to suit her needs. First, she checked his memory banks. There was a clutter of things a virus need not know. Owed favors, firewall containment disrupters, games, why, Megabyte had wasted ram on useless material. Malestorm swiftly deleted it. Next, she looked through his visual memories. All those henchmen, and they accomplished nothing. Malestorm know that even if he retained those memories, Megabyte would never have the same army. No, Malestorm deleted that as well. Malestorm soon decided to wipe out everything except who he was, what he was, and, most importantly, who his enemies were. Malestorm smiled at the thought of all the chaos Megabyte could control- as long as he was under her control.  
  
AndrAIa sighed, looking over the information that was piled up all over the Principal Office's War Room. " Dot's gotten too overprotective," she muttered. She felt the unborn child in her belly kick, undoubtedly hungry. After all, AndrAIa hadn't eaten in microseconds. " Hey, sugar," Mouse said behind her. " Hi, Mouse," AndrAIa sighed. " Now what are you doing in here? Dot told you to take it easy. And if I know anything about this system, and pregnancy in general, it's that this is too much on the hard side," Mouse said. " And just what do you know about pregnancy?" AndrAIa asked. " A lot more than most people would think, now get out of here, or I am going to have to call security and have them escort you out of here.  
  
Matrix was running down a dark, deep corridor. He was trying to find something, but he didn't know what. Matrix reached for Gun, but found empty air. He came across a door, and opened it. Inside was Megabyte. Matrix ran to delete him, but when he looked in Megabyte's eyes, he saw AndrAIa. Now, he was in the Principal Office- but of a system he'd never seen before. He looked around and saw Backup, who vanished in a flash of white. Matrix blinked, and Dot was in front of him, and Matrix was pointing Gun at her. He looked down, looked back to Dot, and saw that in her place was Hexadecimal with a hoard of nulls behind her. Hex turned, and Matrix felt an uncontrollable urge to follow her. Instead of walking after her, though, he dropped to the floor a followed after her like a snake. Matrix searched for a reflective surface, and saw that instead of his face, a green and black null was staring back at him.  
  
" Malestorm. Make your report. And make it fast. I've got better things to do than to waste my time hearing you give me reasons for your stupidity," the faceless form growled. " My liege, I am attempting to rewrite the memory of the renegade and the virus Megabyte as we speak. I presume that there will be excellent results soon," Malestorm smiled. " Why do I get the feeling that you know you are doomed to failure and you know it?" the being on the other side of the hologram growled, " And that you think you can hide it from me." " My lord, I would never do that," Malestorm said. " For your sake, you'd best not," the form said and cut the link.  
  
The renegade awoke in a dark room. He shifted, uncomfortably, then heard a voice telling him to calm. For some reason, this voice calmed him, and he sighed. A woman stepped forward. " How are you feeling?" she asked. " Well, but, where am I?" he asked. " You are on board the ship The Eye of the Storm. I am her commander, Malestorm," she stated, and the renegade realized that it had been her voice that had been telling him to calm. " Why am I here?" he asked. " First, I would like your name," she smiled. The renegade searched his memory, but found he could not remember! He didn't know who he was! 


	4. Arrival of a New Guardian

1.1.1.1 Chapter 4  
  
Blu flew away from the P.O. of Mainframe. He had wanted to help these people, but Malestorm had warned him that if he talked, she would delete everyone she had captured. He looked back and saw that the blue guy who had held him in the P.O. Blu sighed. At least they were persistent. The Mainframers were also growing annoying. Blu flew forward, ignoring the plea in the blue man's eyes asking him to come back.  
  
Turbo paced his office in the Super Computer. All cycle he had been receiving calls blaming him and/or the Guardian Collective for what Daemon had forced them to do.  
  
" Turbo, you need some rest," stated a voice from behind him.  
  
" Kerry. I didn't hear you come in," Turbo stated, returning his gaze to the window.  
  
" That's because I portaled in. I've recently been in System 438 scanning their damage, and I was nearly kicked out. Turbo, they're still scared of us, and they are so certain that Daemon is still here ready to infect their families, their friends, themselves, that they refuse any Guardian help," Kerry said, a plea forming in her eyes.  
  
" Karry, I'm sorry, but there is nothing I can do about that," Turbo sighed, rubbing his temples, " Now, please, try it." Kerry nodded, then left. Turbo signaled his secretary.  
  
" Kal, hold everyone and everything for the next five microseconds," he ordered, then closed the window. He closed his windows that overlooked the Super Computer, then locked his doors and deactivated the security monitors. Only now did he feel comfortable and stepped out of his uniform. He stood around his office naked and stood at the mirror. He looked at the patch of skin closest to where he had his icon. It was crusty and flaky. Turbo sighed, laid down on his bed, and fell asleep.  
  
Once more, the woman called to Turbo. Once more, he felt an uncontrollable urge to do what she asked.  
  
" Turbo, how many Guardians do you have on the net?" she asked, gazing in his eyes.  
  
" I have five hundred, each one looking for possible Guardian material. I also have fifty on personal leave."  
  
" What do you feel like doing right now?" she asked, batting her lashes, and truthfully, Turbo replied,  
  
" Whatever you want me to do."  
  
When Turbo awoke, he was different. Not only physically but mentally as well. His only thought, his reason of existence, was to do Malestorm's bidding. He quietly removed his icon, now unable to be of any use to him. Turbo looked in the mirror, taking a good, long look. His eyes were pure yellow, with just a hint of gold. His fingers were now claws. He had two fangs protruding from his mouth, and he walked on just the tip of his feet. He could also walk around without the normal sense of clothing, as his body from the chest down was covered in a strange purple metal. His hair now was long and well lower than his shoulders. He also had a chest plate with Malestorm's red symbol of two glowing eyes. Turbo- no, now it was Terror- destroyed the window of the office, jumped form it, and raced toward the nearest portal.  
  
Bob felt a power within him diminish as Turbo succumbed to Malestorm's infection. He fell straight down from the point he was from the game sprite, trying to soften the impact of his fall by putting his hands down in front of him, but it was no use. The air was blowing to fast and to hard for him to keep his hands steady enough to cushion his fall. Bob ordered Glitch to use one of his bubbles to help to cushion the fall, but he had too much air blowing through.  
  
Why me? Blu thought as he watched the blue guy fall. Blu went and caught him.  
  
" This is only 'cause I don't like death," Blu said, placing Bob on a roof. Blu then flew away. Blu decided that now it was time to go. " If you'll get me a portal to anywhere than here, I'll take it. You owe me that."  
  
" First, answer me some questions," Bob asked.  
  
" Won't give me a portal? Fine. I'll bum my way outta here," Blu growled, then flew away.  
  
Malestorm smiled. Finally, she could get new toys. She opened her portal, and emerged eleven hours ago.  
  
" Enzo, are you going to be all right?" the girl asked. Malestorm smiled. Two easy targets. She made the reach, but suddenly,  
  
" Blitch, cutter!" Malestorm's tentacles were slashed. Malestorm looked over, and saw a Guardian cadet. The saw that had sliced Malestorm's tentacles returned to a device on the Guardian's arm. The female sprite glanced in her direction and pulled up her arm which had a harpoon on it. Malestorm hissed, showing her fangs.  
  
" Lady, I ain't impressed," the Guardian glared, " Now, put your arms, tentacles, and whatever down, and back away- Slowly." Malestorm obeyed, but them sent her tentacles out and grabbed the girl, the cadet, the growling dog, and the boy on the bed. Then, all of them vanished as she disappeared.  
  
Kerry paced outside of Turbo's office when she collapsed. As she was the Assistant Prime Guardian, she was also among the first to recover.  
  
" Turbo!" she gasped. " Kal, get me in there!" Without waiting for Kal to respond, she ordered Gardro to blast the door down. She entered, and saw his icon and the broken window. " No," she whispered, picking up his icon. A whirring came from behind Turbo's desk. " Copeland!" she gasped again. She picked Copeland up, and saw he was definitely broken- from a viral stepping on him. " Kal, take Copeland down to the Keytool Tower."  
  
" Where are you going?" Kal said, guessing her next move.  
  
" Mainframe."  
  
2 Thirteen and a half hours ago.  
  
Vixen strolled down the corridor, knowing that the cadet was already there. Suddenly, there was a crash. She turned, only to see two tentacles grabbing her. She passed out.  
  
Malestorm saw the Guardian falter. Her Keytool fell to the floor. She smirked, then vanishing. If she'd stayed a moment longer, she would have seen the Keytool fly up to it's old stationary position, glow gold, and another Vixen appearing, continuing on as if nothing had happened.  
  
3 Now, In Mainframe.  
  
Dot sighed, seeing the sprite fly off again. Suddenly, a flash of light appeared; the kind she'd only seen twice before. She turned her head, and saw a Guardian appear, only this one was wearing red with black cuffs at her shoulders, knees, and elbows.  
  
" Are you Dot Matrix?" she asked. Dot nodded.  
  
" My name is Kerry. I'm the Assistant Prime Guardian. It is imperative I speak to Guardian 452," she said.  
  
" You mean Bob?" Dot asked.  
  
" Yes. If the Net ever needed a Guardian like him and his allies, it is now," Kerry said.  
  
" Mainframe is at Turbo's command. Just tell us what we need to do," Dot said.  
  
" Turbo has been infected. As Assistant Prime Guardian, I currently have command of the Guardians," Kerry sighed, a tear appearing in her eyes. Dot put a hand on Kerry's arm.  
  
" He means very much to you, doesn't he?" Kerry nodded. Just then Mouse entered.  
  
" Dot, we've got an emergency," she stated, then took a look at Kerry.  
  
" Mouse," she glared.  
  
" Kerry," Mouse said coldly.  
  
" Good, you two know each other. Mouse, you and Kerry need to handle this. I've got bigger things to worry about," Dot said, then shoved Mouse and Kerry outside, closing the door. Then, with all the binomes in the waroom looking at their consoles, she sighed and smiled. " One more blow-up in the waroom avoided."  
  
Kerry glared at Mouse. Mouse glared at Kerry. The two sprites glared at each other. CPUs were walking around, all rounding up Neo-Virals.  
  
" Mouse. I heard you were in Mainframe, but I had no clue Dot would let you anywhere near the Principal Office. She must be incredibly gullible or incredibly trusting," Karry glared.  
  
" Even with that promotion, you still haven't given up that biased attitude of yours. Just because I made a few attempts to hack into the Super Computer-"  
  
" And you even sunk low enough to side with a virus! I was smart enough to push Turbo to enforce Protocol 999 by planting a bomb in your wristband, but Turbo had to get sentimental and give Mainframe another few nanoseconds. Sure, we would have lost Bob, but it would have been a small price to pay for getting you out of the Net," Kerry growled.  
  
" I've had enough with this, Kerry! We'll settle this here and now!"  
  
" Kerry!" Bob cried, interrupting the tiff.  
  
" Guardian 452. It is good to see you," Kerry said, still glaring at Mouse. Bob sighed.  
  
" Kerry, I know how much you hate Mouse, but you must be here for a reason, and that should mean that Mouse is second to your hatred," Bob said, stepping in between Kerry and Mouse. Kerry's glare turned to Bob for a moment.  
  
" All right, Guardian 452. You have a point," Kerry said, her glare fading away. All three entered the waroom. Dot turned at the sound, but softened when she saw Bob.  
  
" Bob. Report," she ordered.  
  
" The game sprite got away. All he wanted was a portal out of here," Bob said.  
  
" I thought so. All right, now, we need to get down to business," Dot said, taping he icon and returned to her battle garb. " Mouse, what's the emergency?"  
  
" Ray and I checked out the system Matrix entered. We couldn't find his icon," Mouse said.  
  
" Where's Ray? Is he sure?"  
  
" Positive. But I don't know where Ray is."  
  
" What?"  
  
" Ray opened a portal here, tentacles flew toward us, Ray pushed me threw and closed the portal."  
  
" Then he's been captured by a viral," Kerry glared. 


	5. Battle in the Principal Office

1.1.1 Chapter 5  
  
  
  
  
  
Mouse starred at Kerry for a nanosecond.  
  
" What do you mean by taken by a viral? Explain," Dot ordered.  
  
" A horrible virus called Malestorm. She hopes to take over from where Daemon left off," Kerry sighed. Suddenly, Glitch began to bleep.  
  
" What is it, Bob?" Dot asked.  
  
" This is unbelievable," Bob gaped.  
  
" What?" Kerry asked, looking and Glitch. " Vixen?" she gasped. Glitch opened a vid-window which showed Vixen walking down a corridor, tentacles flying at her, her going unconscious, the creature and Vixen disappearing, Glitch flying up, glowing gold, and another Vixen appearing and walking on. The window closed.  
  
" What does this mean?" Dot asked, obviously confused.  
  
" It means that Malestorm can transverse time. But what gets me is what the deal is with this second Vixen," Kerry said, rubbing her chin.  
  
" Whoa, whoa. Wait a nano. What do you mean, she can transverse time?" Dot asked.  
  
" It means she can capture her victims from any time since the beginning of the Net. Bob, any theories as to why there was a second Vixen?" Kerry said, turning to Bob.  
  
" The only thing I can thing of is that Glitch didn't want to go to Turbo without proof, so he used what he had of Vixen's code, extrapolated the clone from his memory of her, and continued on. Glitch, what happened after that bit that you showed us?" Bob asked. Another vid-window opened. Bob saw Vixen yell to a virus,  
  
" Hey, Kilobyte? Ready for oblivion?" Bob nearly dropped to the floor.  
  
" Oh, my," Kerry said.  
  
" That means that even if we get Vixen back, she can't go back to her own time," Bob whispered.  
  
" Why? What's the problem?" Dot asked.  
  
" Dot, remember when I told you that Vixen was deleted by a virus?"  
  
" Yes."  
  
" That's him. Kilobyte."  
  
" Oh, my," Dot gasped. There was silence among the four sprites for a few moments.  
  
Malestorm put down her victims, then scanned her group, sighing at the renegade. Unfortunately, the renegade's memories were quick to return. Oh, well, she sighed. At least she was depleting the Net of failures. She left, and did not look back. As soon as she was gone, Enzo got up.  
  
" She's gone, guys," he said. Kiyan, Andra, Matrix, Illan, Tweek, Lan, Liro, Toque, Blank, Pixel, Backup, Terrin, and Phong sat up.  
  
" Matrix, it's still hard to see you all grown up. Last time I saw you, you were- Him!" Terrin said, looking at the young Guardian Enzo. Matrix gaped.  
  
" Anyone here you guys recognize?" Illan asked.  
  
" Surfr, me, AndrAIa, Frisket, and Terrin."  
  
" By him, AndrAIa, and me, he means as kids," Terrin said, gaping at his younger self, " And I recognize the female Guardian. Her name is Vixen. But she deleted thirteen and a half hours ago."  
  
" Well, we already figured Malestorm could transverse time," Phong said.  
  
" Yeah, but still. This is creepy," Terrin said.  
  
Malestorm let them talk. She had bigger fish to fry. Terror was terrorizing System 2,424,397 and she knew he'd soon return here. All he needed was the portal, which she'd open in three microseconds. First, she had to get more failures. She already had the perfect targets in mind: A med Guardian, a Codemaster named Lens, a former Codemaster know as Old man Phearson, a hacker, and a Command.com named Dot Matrix.  
  
Lenson walked down the corridor with the organizer in his hand. He didn't see the tentacles fly towards him, which meant he didn't have the time to even scream. Malestorm captured him, believing him to be the simplest catch ever.  
  
Lens was in the practice room. As such, he was actually able to fight back when Malestorm arrived.  
  
" You are a fool if you attempt to capture a Codemaster," he growled.  
  
" Really? Where was that arrogance when Daemon took over the Net? Oh, that's right! You all went hiding in the Web because you were all scared of her!" Malestorm smirked. Lens simply growled.  
  
" Daemon attacked several of the Codemasters before she could attempt to attack the whole Guild. We needed to heal our numbers," he growled. Malestorm stilled smirked. She just blasted the Gibson-Coil Pike out of his hands then latched her tentacles on Lens.  
  
Phearson was asleep when Malestorm arrived. He was much simpler than even Lenson. Malestorm just zapped him into her side ball. She looked down at the collection. She only had eight left. Just enough for the hacker, the Command.com, and the Command.com's staff.  
  
" Mouse, it isn't right that you and Kerry are fighting. Besides, we need to get the others back. Ray, Matrix- they may only have been the first that Malestorm is after. Who knows who is next?" Dot said, putting a hand on Mouse's shoulder. At least Kerry and Bob were out attempting to see if Malestorm had been in Mainframe so Dot could talk to Mouse.  
  
" Oh, I know. Me," Malestorm snickered. Mouse grabbed her katana, but Malestorm's tentacles knocked it out of her hand.  
  
" Specky! Activate emergency code six point zero two!" Dot cried, using some of the acrobatic moves and jet-box maneuvers avoiding Malestorm's tentacles. She reached Mouse's katana. " Mouse! Catch!" she cried, tossing Mouse's katana to her. Mouse caught it.  
  
" Thanks, sugar!" Mouse cried, slicing a few tentacles. Malestorm cried in pain and Mouse threw back her veil. " Specky! Get a picture!" she cried.  
  
" Right! Say cheese!" Specky said, pressing a button.  
  
Outside of the P.O., Bob and Kerry turned as the sirens went off.  
  
" Bob, what's going on?" Kerry asked, just as the sky turned purple.  
  
" Warning. Incoming game. Warning. Incoming game," was announced.  
  
" Bob! Let's go!" Kerry cried.  
  
" But, what about Dot?"  
  
" She's a grown sprite. She can take care of herself. Plus- don't tell her I said this- she's got Mouse on her side. Now, come on!" Kerry cried. The two flew into the game.  
  
" Glitch!" Bob cried.  
  
" Gardro!" Kerry cried at the same time.  
  
" Game stats!" they cried together. They looked at each other.  
  
" You have seniority," Bob said.  
  
" All right. We're in a character fighting game. The User has to defeat four of the six different characters," Kerry said.  
  
" And that means one fighter isn't going to play."  
  
" That's right. We both need to choose characters."  
  
" Matrix told me about a game like this, only there were twelve characters and the User had to beat five of them."  
  
" Really? Let's hope this isn't a sequel," Kerry chuckled. The User made his choice.  
  
" Megabyte," the simulated voice said. Bob gasped. The version of Megabyte that appeared looked like he had after the Web had altered him.  
  
" Impossible!" Bob cried.  
  
" Could Users know about us?"  
  
" They can't! As far as Users know, we're just game characters!" Bob cried. He looked around. The characters left were AndrAIa, Matrix, Bob, Daemon, and Hex.  
  
" Quick, pick a character!" Kerry said, choosing the character that looked like AndrAIa. Bob headed for himself. The game chose for Hex to go up against the User.  
  
" How is this possible?" Bob asked himself.  
  
Malestorm had left. Specky had programmed the camera to give the brightest flash, which scared her off just like a Web creature.  
  
" Specky, get Hex in here. We may need her viral powers," Dot said.  
  
" It seems weird having her here after she saved the Net," Mouse said.  
  
" No, that was the original Hex. Remember, Bob wanted her back for the big fight against Megabyte. We used our backup of her that was stored in the archives," Dot said.  
  
" I know that, sugar, but still, I remember how you were very upset with her after the kiss she gave GlitchBob," Mouse said.  
  
" Mouse, remember, we don't use those terms at all," Dot said.  
  
" Well, I guess it's true," Mouse said, just as Hex arrived.  
  
" Yes, Dot?" she asked, sweetly.  
  
" Hex, I need some info. Have you heard of a viral called Malestorm?" Dot asked.  
  
" No, I'm afraid not. Biscuit?" Hex asked, bringing out her plate of biscuits.  
  
" Not right now, but maybe in a few microseconds. Specky, go to my room and get the Java out," Dot ordered. Just then, the communicator bleeped. " Excuse me, I'll be back in a Nano." When Dot returned, the color had drained from her face.  
  
" Dot, what is it?" Mouse asked.  
  
" Hex, is it possible Megabyte had a clone?" she asked.  
  
" Not that I'm aware of," Hex said, looking worried.  
  
" Then Megabyte somehow got a clone, because now he's attacking systems alongside an unknown viral," Dot said as AndrAIa entered.  
  
" Dot, I came as soon as I heard the P.O. had been attacked. What's up?" she asked.  
  
" AndrAIa, you and Matrix encountered several virals, right?"  
  
" Yes. Why?"  
  
" Can you identify this one?" Dot asked, opening a vid window of Malestorm. AndrAIa gasped.  
  
" Dot, that woman wasn't a viral when I encountered her. She was one of the infected Guardians. I met her as Matrix fought alongside Turbo against some Guardians. Dot, there is something wrong here," AndrAIa said, eyes wide. 


	6. A Change in Attitude

1.1.1 Chapter 6  
  
  
  
  
  
Malestorm sighed as she entered her Sickbay.  
  
" Walkson!" she cried, " Get in here!" The Binome entered with medical tools.  
  
" Yes, mistress?" the Binome asked.  
  
" My last two fought back. They damaged me. Repair the tendrils," she barked.  
  
" Oh, dear," Walkson said, dropping most of his tools. The tool he needed was still in his hand and he ran over to Malestorm. " I assume that you didn't get them." Malestorm glared at him.  
  
Wellmen walked down the corridor of the P.O., now hoping to sleep for the first time since getting this body. How he could sleep as a null in a robot body was beyond what he knew, but then again, he had had no clue about the second plane of sprite existence know as the Web. This was all before the sirens, of course. After them, Wellmen, who still had no clue how to get into the bed, much less sleep in it, headed straight down to the waroom. Dot, AndrAIa, and Mouse were all standing next to a vid window.  
  
" Dot, what happened?" he asked.  
  
" Dad, a virus attacked us. She has Matrix," Dot whispered.  
  
" You're certain?"  
  
" We just received a note from her. It said that Matrix and Ray were hers, and that there is nothing we can do about it." There was a dead silence in the waroom.  
  
Hex fell, meaning that the User had won. Now the game choose Daemon. She was felled quickly, unable to defend herself. Now it was Bob's turn. " If I fail, Kerry, don't waste time trying to help me. Make the game choose you," he said as he entered the arena.  
  
" Guardian. I have so been waiting to do this. Deleting you will be delicious," the User said. Bob ignored him. The User was acting just like Megabyte always had.  
  
" I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, MB," Bob glared, " Glitch, Blaster."  
  
" Really, Guardian. You can't delete another processing being. It goes against everything you stand for."  
  
" Don't count on the Guardian protocol to save your sorry ASCII, Megabyte."  
  
" And such language. Really, Bob. Tell me, did you ever use those words on my dear, dear sister?"  
  
" Glitch, fire," Bob growled, aiming. Megabyte just stood there bemused. As such, he wasn't expecting the blast of energy the hit him.  
  
" Game Over."  
  
" Bob," Kerry said, " the way you talked to that User, well it was like Megabyte was there. I should get you to the Principal Office."  
  
" That's a good idea. Dot should know about that game. That was very eerie."  
  
" I agree, but I was going to take you there for a different reason entirely. Bob, you are obviously damaged somehow. It could be from what happened to Turbo. Regardless, let's get you to your home." Kerry opened a vid-window. " Dot, where is Bob's home?"  
  
" It's in Kits Sector. You'll know it immediately. There's a rotating 8-ball over the top of it."  
  
" All right. Thank you." Kerry looked at the P.O. " What happened there?" she asked.  
  
" Malestorm."  
  
" Fine. I'll be there momentarily," Kerry said, closing the vid window. " Bob. Give me your key," she ordered, extending her hand. Bob, who was required by his code to follow orders from Guardians of a higher level than him, gave her the key. " Glitch, make sure that Bob stays in his apartment and gets bed rest- lot's of it. Bob, you are not to leave your apartment unless I order it. Do I make myself absolutely clear?"  
  
" Yes, ma'am," Bob slumped. Kerry took him to his apartment then locked him in.  
  
Dot was waiting with a briefing for Kerry by the time she got there. When Kerry was done reading, she was shocked.  
  
" Mouse did severe damage to Malestorm who seemed more interested in you than her?"  
  
" That's what it seemed to Specky, the CPUs, and me."  
  
" Hmmmm, maybe I copied her wrong."  
  
" You have that right. Kerry, I once hated Mouse because the first time she came to Mainframe, she nearly deleted my little brother. But then, she saved my life from the Web creature that caused all this trouble. Before the Web creature, we were able to contain Megabyte and Hexadecimal. When the portal opened to the Web, we had to join sides with the virals. They betrayed us, threw Bob in a telephone booth-"  
  
" Telephone booth?"  
  
" We had to call it something. Capsule, missile, they were both too usual. Not to mention, Hex told us Megabyte used up all his money on the building of spare ABCs that were used when he went after he returned from the Web plus the ABCs that were used in the war, so he had to use something to send Bob off into the Web as far as he was concerned. Recently, Matrix went into the Web in a Web protection suit to get the telephone booth. He found a phone book inside that listed the numbers of Megabyte's viral henchmen. Now, who's telling this story, me or you?"  
  
" I'm not sure anymore," Kerry chuckled. Dot smiled. " I'm not even sure what the story is about either."  
  
" Dot! Kerry!" Wellmen cried. Dot and Kerry entered the waroom.  
  
" What?" Dot ordered.  
  
" Dot, AndrAIa is going into labor."  
  
" What? But there were still a few cycles left until the due date!"  
  
" I know, but measurements can't be off. I'm living proof of that. Well, sort of."  
  
" Mind runnin' that one by me again?" Kerry asked.  
  
" Here, watch this." Dot tossed Kerry a vid of True Stories of Mainframe. " The acting's horrible, but it gets the basic measurements- no pun intended- outlined. Mouse?"  
  
" I already have the med teams on their way."  
  
" ' Daemon Rising,' 'Cross Nodes,' 'What's Love Got To Do With It?' and 'Sacrifice?' Kerry whispered.  
  
" Malestorm has hit the Super Computer!" Specky cried.  
  
" Are you sure?" Dot and Kerry asked together.  
  
" Positive, sirs. A report just came in from a Guardian named Kal."  
  
" That's the Prime Guardian's secretary. I guess, Kal is currently my secretary. Put it on screen," Kerry ordered.  
  
" This is Guardian three-four. I'm calling all Command.com's in the Net. I also am making a plea to the Codemasters. If you have had any abrupt disappearances, to contact me immediately at the-" The message was covered in static, then was replaced with Malestorm's face.  
  
" We interrupt this plea for a special report: You're all doomed. I am Malestorm. You cannot count on those pathetic Guardians, for their Prime Guardian is mine. He is currently causing terror under the guise of Terror. Hunt him, his assistant Megabyte, or myself all you want, you'll never catch us. We now return you to the previous message."  
  
" -Thank you, that is all," Kal finished.  
  
" Helpful, wasn't that?" Kerry said, charmingly, then remembered the game. " Dot! She mentioned Megabyte. In that game, something scary happened. Bob and I emerged in a fighting game. The User was Megabyte and the other choices were Daemon, Hexadecimal, Matrix, AndrAIa, and Bob." Dot and Mouse gaped at Kerry. Mouse was the first to regain her voice.  
  
" Do you mean to tell me that Users know about us, sugar?" she asked, pulling out her katana and polishing it.  
  
" I don't know, but it does mean we should be careful about what goes on in here."  
  
" Warning. Incoming Game. Warning. Incoming Game."  
  
" Oh, no! Not now!" Dot cried. Wellmen returned from the med center.  
  
" Dot, it was just a false labor. There were several of those before Enzo was born. He probably gave the baby some of the same complications," he said, obviously sighing.  
  
" Thank goodness. Okay, Mouse, you, Kerry, Hex, Enzo and I will go into the game," Dot ordered.  
  
" Enzo?" Mouse asked.  
  
" Dad and Specky can't handle him without me, and Hack and Slash are still feuding with each other each time Slash mention Megabyte," Dot sighed.  
  
Soon afterwards, the sprites were on their way to the game.  
  
" Dot! It's gonna land on Bob's apartment!" Mouse cried.  
  
" Not good!" Dot cried.  
  
" This is not good," a voice said behind them.  
  
" AndrAIa!" Mouse cried.  
  
" AndrAIa, you're supposed to be in the med ward!" Dot cried, just as the game landed on them.  
  
" So. What did I miss?" AndrAIa asked.  
  
Cat sighed looking at the growing black mass.  
  
" The Eye of the Storm is coming!" Ori cried.  
  
" Cat! The evac siren has been given! Wise One is getting the Binomes out of here! Captain Capacitor and the Saucy Mare are holding all those here! Ori is capturing the nulls! Terrin told us where to go before he disappeared!" Ani cried.  
  
" Malestorm, come and get me!" Cat cried.  
  
" She's random!" Ani cried to Ori who was loading the last of the nulls.  
  
" Maybe, but unless one of us drags her on board, she also be deleted!" Ori called back.  
  
" Yeah, but why me?" he asked, looking up. He zip boarded up to the top of the pentacle where Cat was screaming her lungs out. He didn't see the bolts of lightning headed for them.  
  
" Ani! Cat!" Ori cried, but it was too late. Terrin's wife and best friend were gone. 


	7. Hearts Shattered

1.1.1 Chapter 7  
  
  
  
  
  
Dot skimmed the skyline of the game.  
  
" Kerry. This game ring any bells?" she asked.  
  
" No, but that can be changed. Gardro, game stats," Kerry ordered. Dot turned to AndrAIa.  
  
" AndrAIa, Matrix and I both agreed that you weren't to go into games until after your child is born. In fact, I'm thinking on changing that to until your child is Enzo's age!" Dot yelled.  
  
" Dot, face it, The baby isn't coming yet. I still can enter games. Now, Kerry, what's the object of the game?"  
  
" To stop the User from getting to. the Super Computer," Kerry said, looking up at Dot.  
  
" Let's see what the game provides. Reboot!"  
  
" Reboot!"  
  
" Reboot!"  
  
" Reboot!"  
  
" Reboot!"  
  
" Reboot!" As the flashes of light died down, the sprites looked down. Enzo hadn't changed at all, Hex was wearing her first attire, Dot was in her pink and red outfit, and AndrAIa, Mouse, and Kerry were themselves.  
  
" What, precisely is the game providing?" Hex asked.  
  
" Be quiet," Dot glared.  
  
" Dot, judging by what you're wearing, I'm willing to wager that Kerry, AndrAIa, and I aren't supposed to be in this game," Mouse said. Suddenly, the sound of a zip board being flown was heard.  
  
" Bob!" Dot said, then turned to her best friend, her sister-in-law, and her new ally,  
  
" AndrAIa, Mouse, Kerry, I want you to make your selves scarce. I want Bob to think we're game sprites. Hex, go to the game lair. If Bob sees you in the game, his first instinct is going to be to stop you." Hex's mask shifted to her shocked expression.  
  
" I see." Hex switched to her tear mask. " Well, then, I do want to stay processing." Her murderous mask appeared. " If I encounter the creature that has chosen to take my form, I'll delete her! Ah! Ha! Ha!" Hex disappeared.  
  
" Alright, Enzo, go hide over there. When Bob comes down, I want you to ram him over like you used to." As Enzo disappeared behind one of the warehouses, Dot called to Bob and got him to come down.  
  
" Hi Dot. What's up?" he asked.  
  
" Bob!" Enzo cried, and knocked Bob over talking at 1000 miles a nanosecond.  
  
"HeyBobyouwannagojetboardracingorgoplayagamemaybeagameofskileapmaybeaftertha ttheUserwilldownloadagameandIcanshowyouhowgoodofagameplayerIcanbewhenIreally needtomaybeI'llevenwinthenextgamecube!" Enzo cried.  
  
" Uh, hi to you too, Enzo," Bob said.  
  
" Uh, Bob, I kinda wanted to talk to you," Dot said.  
  
" Sure, what about?" Bob asked, getting up. Dot only needed one word.  
  
" Kerry." Bob now knew.  
  
" What are you two doing in here?"  
  
" Well, actually, Mouse, AndrAIa, Kerry and Hex are here too," Dot said.  
  
" What do you think you're doing here, Dot?" Bob asked.  
  
" Bob, Dot was only trying to help. Besides, Bob, Kerry told Dot that you had been acting strange during the last game," Enzo said.  
  
" Enzo, this is between me and your big-headed sister who doesn't know enough to leave game to the Guardians!" Bob cried. Suddenly, there was a big flash and Kerry and Hex appeared.  
  
" Hex! The User has a tear and now is trying to get Bob to open it to the Super Computer! You have to help me stop him!" Kerry cried.  
  
" Oh, is that all? Well, that's a whole lot easier than attempting to keep my deep brother's power in check," Hex said with her smirk mask.  
  
" Forget the smirk and help me- Ahhhhhhh!!!" Kerry was shot by one of the ABC's fire.  
  
" Kerry!" Bob cried. He caught her and took her over to Dot.  
  
" Big-headed?" Dot glared.  
  
" Dot I don't have the time to-" Bob suddenly began to gasp for air.  
  
" Bob? Bob? Bob!" Dot cried. Meanwhile, overhead, Hex was unleashing her viral power on 'Megabyte's' ABCs. Then she turned to the Tor.  
  
" Megabyte! This is for putting me in that infernal collar!" she cried.  
  
" She never gives that up, huh, Mouse?" AndrAIa said.  
  
" Game Over."  
  
" Mouse! Call a med unit for Kerry and Bob! NOW!" Dot screamed.  
  
2 The Eye Of The Storm.  
  
Kiyan was standing in the back of the room, not wanting to speak to anyone. He was scared now. The room was being crowded with all of the sprites and binomes. One of the sprites- One of the Guardians- walked over to him.  
  
" You're Kiyan, right?" she asked. Kiyan nodded.  
  
" I'm Vixen. Your sister over there is parading around with the fact that she is the daughter of the Assistant Prime Guardian. Is that right?" Kiyan nodded again.  
  
" Silent, aren't you? So, you're Kerry's kid?" Kiyan shook his head.  
  
" Well, then, who are your parents?" she asked.  
  
" Dot Matrix and Bob," Kiyan said, finding his voice, only to lose it again. Vixen's eyes widened.  
  
" Bob? Bob is the Assistant Prime Guardian? Well then, he's certainly changed since the days where I was training him," Vixen smiled, " Then again, I should have realized that your eyes and face definitely his. Look, from what I can tell, the rest of us are gonna try and get us back to our own times. Like me- I need to go home and train your dad so he can become the Assistant Prime Guardian. And Backup and Tweek need to go back to their home and protect it from games because from what Matrix told me, the Guardians have had trouble getting to some systems. Now, come on. Smile," Vixen smiled. Kiyan also smiled.  
  
Matrix and Terrin watched Kiyan and Vixen smiling and they smiled also.  
  
" Well, that's one problem solved, eh, Matriarch?" Terrin asked.  
  
" You're never gonna let me live that one down, are you?" Matrix asked, looking Terrin in the eyes.  
  
" Hmmmm, let me think. Nope," Terrin chuckled, patted Matrix on the back and walked away. Enzo, however, wasn't enjoying himself. His ear was pressed against the door.  
  
" Guys! She's coming!" he cried. Everyone went to their beds and had closed their eyes just as Malestorm entered. She placed Cat and Ani on two empty beds. Suddenly, a vid-window opened.  
  
" Evilclon. What do you think you are doing?" Malestorm asked the creature in the vid-window.  
  
" I think I am preparing to take your job. Our leader insists that if you are just going to capture people from the Net, then he'll will recapture the viral in you," Evilclon smirked. Enzo barely opened one of his eyes and looked at Evilclon. He was a floating brown head with four tentacles of his own. His eyes were pure red and had a red half diamond with curved edges one it. He had eight visible teeth, four on top of his mouth, four on the bottom- all of them pointed.  
  
" He can't pull me out! I've gathered more than what our master wanted!" Malestorm cried.  
  
" Be that as it may, The Viral Imperium cannot wait for you to get the sprites he wanted. Already I have awaken my sleeper infection in some Guardians. Our master is sending the end program for you to one of the Guardians. I have to prepare your ship to be replaced by mine," Evilclon snickered, then pressed a button as he closed the vid-window. Enzo felt a shimmering feeling all over his body then looked around again. He was in a new lab- with Evilclon at the edge of the lab. Enzo realized that he was in more trouble now.  
  
3 Mainframe.  
  
Dot was pacing outside of the hospital with Mouse, AndrAIa, Wellmen, Hex, and Enzo waiting with her.  
  
" Dot, please stop, sugar. You're making me nervous," Mouse said, having switched out of her battle garb due to hospital regulations about armor inside. It seemed to frighten the patients.  
  
" I'm sorry, Mouse, but I can't help it. I'm worried about Bob and Kerry. Especially Bob. He started yelling and insulting me in that game, then it seemed like he couldn't breath. Kerry should be alright. I mean, remember when you got zapped during the First Viral War by an army of ABCs? We had less advanced medical systems, and you survived."  
  
" Yeah, sugar, but those hits barely missed my core-com. Kerry had a damaged core-com, and we are certainly lucky we got her here while she was still processing," Mouse said. Dot sighed then sat down. Wellmen put his hand on Dot while Enzo grabbed a hold of her legs. Dot smiled at her father and patted Enzo on the head. She laid her head down on the cold metal of the robotic body that housed her father. She must have been very tired, as she fell asleep right there. A few microseconds, Mouse's hand was shaking her shoulder.  
  
" Dot, the doctor just came out of the surgery room," she said. Dot sat bolt upright and looked at the doctor.  
  
" What's the prognosis?" she asked.  
  
" Well, we've been able to replace Kerry's core-com with an artificial one. With a few seconds rest, she'll be back to normal. If it wasn't for Hexadecimal teleporting all of you here the instant the game ended, she probably would have fragmented during the operation."  
  
" And Bob?"  
  
" Bob is. Bob has vanished." 


	8. Evilclon's Captives

Chapter 8  
  
Dot stared at the doctor as if he'd just announced that Phong was part viral and had just attempted to take over Mainframe.  
" What did you say?" she asked, hoping her ears had deceived her. But one look at the doctor's face told her that she hadn't.  
  
Enzo could tell the instant Dot's core-com broke, and who could blame her. She'd lost Bob to the Web, Matrix to the games, learned her father was still alive but stuck as a null, lost her father again, was forced to chose between two Bobs, one of the Bobs being injured beyond almost anything recognized as Bob, the other Bob telling her to marry her, learned the one she'd chosen was actually Mega-Dumbo- *Yuck*- was forced to have Hexadecimal in the Principal Office, and now she'd lost Bob again. Mouse and Wellmen put one of their hands on a shoulder of Dot's.  
  
" Sugar, are you alright?" Mouse asked. It had been a few seconds since Kerry's release from the hospital, and she was currently in the waroom preparing for an assault from Malestorm and her forces.  
" Mouse, he had been yelling at me before he passed out. How can I be alright knowing that?" Dot asked.  
" Dot, look, if you keep beating yourself up for every mistake you make, you're never going to be able to look to the future with your eyes wide open. You'll end up glancing at it for an instant then return to beating yourself up. Now, come on," Mouse said, as she dragged Dot out of her office.  
  
Malestorm broke her vid-window controls.  
" Evilclon has stolen my prisoners, and expects me to sit back? Never. Terror. Megabyte. Quit deleting systems and help me destroy Evilclon," she ordered. Terror and Megabyte snapped to attention.  
" Mistress, we have to admit that if there is nothing for us to battle, then we will be leaving you," Megabyte growled. Before Malestorm could make any comment, Terror created a portal and headed off toward Evilclon's ship just like the prisoners had. Malestorm destroyed the nearest binome.  
  
Kerry looked around at the binomes and small collection of sprites. Seeing how well they handled all of this, she decided that they were too used to being under heavy pressure from a viral, and knew what she'd do at the next head Guardian meeting: Decide that Protocol 999 is outdated and should not be used. Protocol 999 forced them to live under a viral rule for User knows how long without a trained Guardian. True, if not for that, Daemon may not have been stopped, but it was not right that they had lived through the rule of Megabyte. She turned and looked at her new partner.  
" Mouse, how is-" Kerry then saw Dot being dragged behind Mouse. She sighed.  
" Alright, sugar. What's our game plan?" Mouse asked, putting Dot in a chair then returning to her battle attire.  
" Well, let's see. If Malestorm plans like any other virus, she'll want to get to the nearest control center. She's going to want to use her captives as well. Specky, let's see anything you Mainframers have on viruses," Kerry ordered. She skimmed the data. " I see Bob never told you about different types of virals. All you know about mainly is cron and Trojan horse virals. That means you're going to need a lot of information. Mouse, I need a CPU main force and Frisket protecting the Principal Office. CPUs need to be outside and Frisket here," Kerry said.  
" Don't worry, Kerry. I already did that. Shouldn't we call in some of your friends?" Mouse asked.  
" I tried contacted Guardian 812, but he's missing. I'll bet that Malestorm already got him. So, I contacted another Guardian. Guardian 1812. She should be here in five nanos," Kerry said, just as a female guardian fell on Dot.  
" I need to work on my landings," the guardian murmured.  
" Ow," Dot groaned. The Guardian got off of Dot and faced Kerry.  
" Guardian 1812, reporting for duty."  
" At ease, Terra," Kerry said. Terra sighed.  
" So, who exactly are we fighting?" Terra asked.  
" Not Mouse."  
" Mouse? The hacker is here?" Terra asked, appalled.  
" Ya know, I'm gettin' sick of that reception," Mouse growled.  
" Terra, Mouse is our ally. She is an equal partner in our fight against Male-" Kerry was interrupted by a vid-window opening.  
" Greetings, foolish sprites and binomes of the Net. I am Evilclon. Malestorm's bounty has been released, and doubled. She is wanted deleted. Her business is now mine. And for my first act, there is a bounty on Dot Matrix, the hacker, Mouse, and Assistant Prime Guardian Kerry. They're worth six times as much as Malestorm dead, sixty times as much alive. That is all," the face of Evilclon stated, and vanished.  
" That may not be good," Terra said.  
  
Evilclon turned from the station and looked at his prisoners.  
" I know the majority of you are awake. Get up," he growled.  
' Uh oh,' Enzo thought, opening his eyes. He did what he. it (He wouldn't give that virus any sign of processing if he could help it- not since Megabyte had ruined his life- twice) ordered.  
" So, you know we're awake," Terrin growled. He raised his Keytool, his younger self following the suit as Matrix brought Gun to bear.  
" Those will do nothing to a member of the Viral Imperium, Second order," Evilclon smirked.  
" Viral Imperium? Second order? What does that mean?" Enzo and Kiyan asked together.  
" A group of virals who have joined together. Now we have near-total control of the Net," Evilclon chuckled, " And all of you are the perfect sacrifices for our leader to gain total control all over the Net."  
" No one sacrifices me," Matrix growled.  
" Nor me," Terrin snarled, " Blitch, Cannon Jet Blast." A blast of molten hot fire blasted from the Keytool and struck Evilclon, knocking him back an inch.  
" Surprising, boy. However, all of us know you can't keep it up forever."  
" That's one of the reasons I'm glad I grew up in the Underworld regions back home," Terrin growled, double-tapping his icon. His Guardian outfit shimmered out and was replaced by a blue tee and black pants. Two weapons were attached to his legs like Gun normally was and a bag of arrows were attached to his back. " 'Cause see, I've got a boatload of artillery." Terrin's younger self did the same.  
" All of your ammo will eventually dwell out. You will fall," Evilclon glared, and made his way out of the room. Terrin sighed and sat down.  
" That virus is sicker than Malestorm. I swear- Cat! Ani!" Terrin cried, finally noticed the last captures before a different virus captured them all.  
" Spam him. I hope he deletes and goes to the Recycle Bin," Cat growled.  
" Did anybody get the barcode of the CPU that ran me over?" Ani asked, clutching his head.  
  
Terrin examined Enzo. The boy was different than Matrix had been when they'd met all those hours ago.  
" Mind running the recap by me again?"  
" Mainframe had been nearly decimated in the First Viral War by Megabyte. Mouse sent him to the Web, but Mainframe was too far-gone. The User rebooted the system, but Matrix had left his icon in game sprite mode, so when the system was restored, I was formed just because the system seemed to think that 'I' was deleted, so there are two 'Enzo Matrix,' one as Matrix, one as Enzo," Enzo explained.  
" Sheesh. Okay, that takes care of what to call you and Matrix, but what about the other Enzo here?" Terrin asked, " For that matter, what should my younger self by called?"  
" Just call me Tear," the younger Terrin smirked.  
" Oh look, Terrin. He's got your smirk," Cat smirked.  
  
Bob just floated, Glitch, his icon, and his clothes no near. The chamber that had been supplied for him was nice. He could replay his whole processing right here without being disturbed. His whole body had shut down except his processor. The room could pluck any image, any memory, any thought from any time in his life for him. Ah, here was one. This was from before he became a Guardian. He'd just returned from school.  
Did I really look that nerdy? Bob thought. The young Bob certainly was different. His silver hair was slick, and was a shade darker. He wore prescription glasses due to the high-energy quantity in the air that hour and was wearing a long sleeve shirt with shorts, which was not the style of the time. The older Bob sighed as he remembered exactly which memory this was. The scene faded as he thought about something more pleasant than the loss of his sister, uncle, and two cousins in the Fifth Net-tional Bank robbery so long ago.  
" There was nothing I could do, he said after ordering that chamber to deactivate. He sat down and activated a vid-mirror. His blue skin was a shade paler than it had been the last time he'd looked in a mirror. Then again, that had been when he and Glitch were still joined together.  
" A mutation in a Guardian caused her to mutate into the virus Daemon. What if that mutation wasn't just in one Guardian? Could I have the mutation? Could that be why I started yelling at Dot? I wish I'd asked Turbo what the first symptoms were in Daela before Daemon was formed," he whispered. He sighed at the thought of Daela. The two had become Guardian trainees together. Daela rose quickly through the Guardian ranks until entering the Guardian Cabal where the Heads of the Guardians stayed. The mutation could easily have been spread through intimate contact, as Bob and Daela were at one-point bed partners. Bob sighed, wishing to relive that experience. The chair disappeared, and Bob began floating again. He concentrated on the first night of their love, and found a momentary peace. He didn't even feel the web that wrapped slowly around him. As it covered his face, he seemingly began to feel as if he were there, and, as if to make it seem even more real, a hologram of Daela appeared, and the last thing the web covered was his mouth, having finally gotten pulled away from a very passionate kiss. 


End file.
